Archery

Introduction

Various theories have been presented to explain how primitive man invented or discovered the bow and arrow. When it happened, who did it, and exactly where it took place are lost forever. But it happened. We can also wonder if the tremendous significance of this discovery occurred to the discoverer: a better way to hunt food and defend oneself from enemies, and the beginning of a weapon of war to be refined through centuries until another man somewhere started using gunpowder.

The remaining primitive tribes in the world still use the bow and arrow for its original good-gathering purpose and for war. For the rest of the world, archery is a popular sport in the forms of target archery, field archery, and hunting. In most states archers are permitted to hunt a few days before the regular hunting season opens.

In the early 1970’s an estimated eight million Americans were participation in hunting, field archery or target shooting. In field archery, targets representing animals or just targets are set up along a trail to simulate hunting conditions. The archer shoots at targets in sequence, with the target faces varying in size and with several distances required throughout the course. For target archery, the archer shoots a specified number of arrows at certain distance in indoor and outdoor ranges. The development of new equipment and the use of new materials in the equipment have contributed to the increased interest in archery and have resulted in higher scores in all events. In 1972, target archer became a gold medal sport in the Olympic Games.

Purpose

Archery’s purpose is development of the ability to shoot an arrow with a bow to the midpoint of a target time after time.

Equipment

The essential tackle consists of a bow, arrows, an armguard and a finger tab or shooting glove. The bow is the piece of equipment used to impart force to the arrow. The force produced is dependent upon the weight of the bow, its construction and the actions of the archer. Presently bows are constructed of fiberglass and wood. A compound bow, which we use in class, due to its design, provides additional leverage, and thus increases the potential for imparting force to the arrow.

The object propelled in archer is an arrow. Arrow shafts are made of wood, fiberglass or aluminum. The most accurate of all arrows is the aluminum arrow. It is also the most expensive and recommended for use only by the highly skilled. Fletching refers to the feathers or plastic vanes placed on the arrow to stabilize its flight. In a three-feather arrow, the feather placed perpendicular to the slit in the arrow nock is the index feather. The crest is the colored band on the shaft of the arrow. It aids the archer in identifying her arrows.

How to determine arrow length- two methods

  1. Place a yard stick against the sternum of the archer. The archer then extends both

arms forward (not stretching/reaching) with the palms of the hands against both

sides of the yardstick. The point at which the fingertips touch the yardstick

indicates the correct length of the archer.

  1. The archer places the nock of the arrow against their sternum. Both arms are extended with the palms of the hands along the shaft of the arrow. The arrow should extend one to two inches beyond the archer’s fingertips.

Scoring

The scoring face consists of five concentric circles. Only those arrows which land within this area counts as hits.

  1. Scores are recorded in descending order rather than in the order shot.
  2. An arrow hitting the petticoat (the area beyond the outside ring) is recorded as a miss.
  3. An arrow that cuts through two colors receives the higher value.
  4. An arrow, which is witnesses and rebounds from the target or passes through the target, counts as seven if the shooting distance is sixty yards or less, and fiveif the shooting distance is greater than sixty yards.

Gold = 9 or 10 pts. Red = 7 or 8 pts. Blue = 5 or 6 pts. Black = 3 or 4 pts. White = 1 or 2 pts.

Petticoat = a miss.

If an arrow embeds into another it counts as the same point value.

Five arrows = one End

A PERFECT END = 5 ARROWS IN THE GOLD!!

The eleven steps of shooting an arrow:

  1. Stance- feet should be parallel and straddling the line. Left shoulder (if right handed) should be facing the target.
  2. Nock arrow- grab arrow below fletching and bring it up and over the vertical bow. You should hear a snap when the arrow attaches to the bow string.
  3. Bow hand set- Do not grip too tightly, hold bow with index and thumb of left hand. Other fingers grip lightly.
  4. String hand set- 3 fingers below the nock
  5. Pre draw- hinge the bow arm and drawing arm to eye level
  6. Draw- with draw arm parallel to the ground, smoothly pull the string towards the face
  7. Anchor- find anchor point (corner of your mouth)
  8. Aim-find point of aim on the target with your arrow tip
  9. Shot set up- get your back muscles moving
  10. Release- open up string fingers to release the string.
  11. Follow through and reflect- At the end of the follow through you should be able to tap your shoulder with your thumb. How did that shot look? What do you need to do to be successful on your next shot?

Whistle Commands

One whistlemeans shoot

Two whistles means “get bows”, at this point the archers should pick up a bow and go to the shooting line. Archers should stand at the shooting line with their “bows on toes” to indicate she is ready for the next whistle command.

Three whistles means to go get arrows. At this point the instructor has seen that the range is clear and all archers are finished shooting and standing behind the waiting line.

Five whistles means that there is an emergency on the range. All archers at the shooting like should put away bows and then go behind the waiting line.

General Rules

  • All archers must straddle a common shooting line.
  • Only five arrows are shot. Five consecutive arrows shot by one archer are referred to as an END. If a greater number of arrows are shot, only the lowest five are scored.
  • If an archer drops an arrow in front of the shooting line the archer should raise her hand and ask the instructor to replace it.
  • In the event of an arrow hanging across the target, the individual in charge (lady paramount) of shooting should be notified and the shooting halted until the arrow is placed securely in the target where it hit. This prevents the arrow from being hit by another arrow.

Personal Safety

All jewelry should be removed prior to shooting!

An arm guard could be worn for protection.

Shooting range safety

  1. The target area should be clear of people! No one should be standing in the line of fire or behind the targets.
  2. All archers should assume the same shooting line, shoot, and then retrieve at the same time.
  3. When nocking the arrow (loading the bow) the point of the arrow should be directed toward the ground or the targets and away from other archers.
  4. An arrow that falls in front of the shooting line should be considered shot unless the archer can retrieve it with her bow from where she is shooting.

Causes of faulty arrow flight

HIGH ARROWS

  • Peeking- head goes up after the archer releases the arrow.
  • Jerking- jerking the fingers off the string on release.
  • Heeling the bow- putting pressure on the lower portion of the thumb, which activates the lower limb
  • Overdraw- pulling arrows beyond normal anchor point.
  • Binding an arrow- Pressure applied to the arrow nock with the top finger of the drawing hand.
  • Bad nock- nock not positioned properly on the arrow.

LOW ARROWS

  • Collapse- losing back tension, allowing the drawing hand to move forward. Arrow creeps forward.
  • Overhold- Maintaining the hold beyond the physical capabilities of the archer.
  • Head Angle- lifting the head as the draw is underway
  • Bad nock
  • String hitting arm guard- evidenced by wear on the arm guard; may cause hunching of the shoulders.

ARROWS TO THE LEFT

  • Tension in the string hand- cupping the drawing hand instead of having the back of the hand relaxed and straight.
  • Body sway of tilt- tendency to lean back on the heels.
  • Plucked string- Bringing the string away from the face and then releasing.

ARROWS TO THE RIGHT

  • Jerking release
  • Peeking
  • Heeling the bow
  • Overdraw and head twist- head not directly at the target, but still drawing to the correct anchor point.

The position of one’s head does not change during the “anchor”. Aiming is the method used to align the arrow with the target. The release is the act of letting go of the string. After-hold is the final step in the shooting sequence. Following the release of the arrow the archer holds her position until she has had time to analyze her form.

Space- Common Problems

  1. NOCK- Incorrect placement of the nock of the arrow in relation to the bowstring will affect the flight of the arrow. Nocking too low sends the arrow high. Nocking too high sends the arrow low.
  2. GRIP- Pinching the arrow or an incorrect spacing of the string fingers, causing pressure to be exerted against the nock of the arrow, will cause the arrow to fall off the arrow rest. Failure to keep the string equally aligned on all three-string fingers (and particularly allowing the string to slip off the 3rd finger) will send the arrow high.
  3. ANCHOR- Failure to achieve the proper relationship between string hand and face will alter the flight of the arrow. The archer should feel the index feather of the string hand against the cheek or under the chin, depending upon the anchor used. Opening the mouth when anchoring changes the position of the string hand. In target archery this lowers the anchor point, causing the arrow to fly high.
  4. AIM- Faulty alignment may be due to an incorrect sight setting.

Force

Force increases as the bow is bent to the greatest degree, which is efficient and safe. Arrows flying low may be indicative of insufficient force production caused by a failure to achieve or maintain sufficient bend in the bow.

  1. DRAW- Failure to utilize a full draw prevents the string from being drawn to anchor position and reduced the bend in the bow. A flexed position of the bow arm prevents the archer from gaining the greatest bend in the bow.
  2. ANCHOR- Failure to maintain contraction of the back muscles until the release prevents a tight anchor and allows forward movement of the string hand, thereby reducing the bend in the bow.
  3. RELEASE- Failure to utilize a live (smooth) release indicates that maximum force was not imparted to the arrow.

A hyper extended bow-arm position causes arrows to fly left and often results in a string bruise on the bow arm.

Incorrect use of the shoulder muscles as indicated by a hunching of the bow-arm shoulder results in the arrow flight to the left and often results in the string contacting the shoulder. The shoulders should be drawn down and back to facilitate use of the back muscles. Tension in the string hand results in plucking the string or throwing the string fingers out from the anchor position. The string hand should remain flat and the wrist straight throughout the entire shooting sequence. Jerking the string hand back before the release sends the arrow high. The string hand should be free of tension and the follow through should be natural rather than forced movement